Background
Torrisi grew up studying classical violin and performing in musicals. Her mother is an ex-nun and pianist, while her father is an ex-priest and jazz drummer.
Torrisi grew up studying classical violin and performing in musicals. Her mother is an ex-nun and pianist, while her father is an ex-priest and jazz drummer.
Torrisi studied jazz voice at Berklee College of Music, and earned her Bachelor in jazz/world music history from San Francisco State University.
Her brother is a clarinetist and neuroscientist. She has released and toured using her first name only, her full name, and as Cryptacize with Chris Cohen. As a solo act, she has toured with Of Montreal, Deerhoof, Destroyer, Fred Thomas, Jens Lekman, Magnolia Electric Company, and Xiu Xiu.
Her first solo album, From the Lion"s Mouth was released by Kill Rock Stars on February 22, 2005.
The album The Locksmith Cometh was released in 2007 via the Tangrams7 label. Her debut album using her full name was self-titled, and released in 2013.
lieutenant was made available through online distribution only. In February 2015 this self-titled album was reissued on vinyl LP through the Ethereal Sequence record label, and distributed by Drag City Records.
The vinyl LP is renamed Advice from Paradise.
Other projects
Most recently she has begun a love advice column called "Advice from Paradise" that is published on her blog. She has also performed with Sufjan Stevens during his tours for The Age of Adz album, and Cryptacize has been the opening band for his tour in the fall of 2009. Torrisi sang and played keyboards in the touring lineup of The Rentals in 2014, supporting the album Lost in Alphaville.
She has performed background vocals on an album by Ariel Pink"s Haunted Graffiti, entitled Before Today, The Curtains, Sufjan Stevens and John Vanderslice, played violin on an album by Xiu Xiu, and provided lead vocals for a song by Saturday Looks Good To Maine. She was a touring member of The Curtains in 2006. She was a member of the band Cryptacize, who as of April 2009 had released two full-length albums on Asthmatic Kitty Records entitled Dig That Treasure and Mythomania.